Paystack, a leading financial technology company in Africa, has recently enhanced its offerings by introducing a WordPress plugin that enables seamless online payments on WooCommerce platforms. This development is particularly beneficial for businesses in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa, aiming to streamline their e-commerce operations.
What is Paystack?
Founded in 2015 by Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, this company provides payment processing services that allow businesses to accept payments via multiple channels, including credit and debit cards, mobile money, and bank transfers. In 2020, it was acquired by Stripe, further solidifying its position in the fintech industry. This solves the major back pain since most African businesses are limited to using major online payment receiving platforms like Stripe, Apple Pay and PayPal.
Introducing Paystack WooCommerce Plugin
The WooCommerce plugin is designed to integrate effortlessly with WordPress websites, providing a secure and efficient payment gateway for online stores. With this plugin, merchants can accept payments through various methods like:
- Credit/Debit Cards: Visa, Mastercard, Verve (NG, GH, KE), and American Express (SA only).
- Mobile Money: Options available in supported countries.
- Bank Transfers: Direct bank account payments.
- USSD Payments: For customers preferring USSD codes.
The plugin offers a modern and seamless payment experience via the Checkout, ensuring customers have a smooth transaction process.
Key features
- Quick Setup: Merchants can start receiving payments within minutes, thanks to the straightforward installation and configuration process.
- Transparent Pricing: This plugin offers simple and clear pricing with no hidden charges or fees. You can check their pricing chart here.
- Recurring Payments: For businesses offering subscription services, the plugin supports recurring payments when used alongside the WooCommerce Subscriptions plugin. This integration ensures automatic renewals for customers using Mastercard or Visa cards.
Paystack also provides other WordPress plugins like:
- Paystack Payment for Give: This plugin allows site owners from Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and Kenya to accept donations from their customers, anywhere.
- Paystack MemberPress: This plugin allows businesses to accept membership subscriptions. Some of the businesses that can take advantage of this feature include Gyms.
- Paystack add-on for gravity forms: This Paystack add-on for Gravity Forms allows you to quickly and easily implement credit card payments with WordPress. To use this add-on, you must have to install Gravity Forms WordPress plugin.
- Paystack Easy Digital Downloads Payment Gateway: This plugin option enables one to receive payments on digital downloads products.
How to Install and Configure the WooCommerce Plugin
Installation
To start using this plugin, you must have WooCommerce installed in your WordPress. You can download WooCommerce plugin for WordPress for free from here and check the installation process.
- Navigate to your WordPress Admin dashboard.
- Go to Plugins > Add New.
- Search for “Paystack WooCommerce Payment Gateway” and click “Install Now.”
- Activate the plugin after installation.
Getting your API keys
- Login to your Paystack dashboard or create an account for free and complete the signup process by providing basic information of the business and completing your profile information.
Configuring the plugin
- Go to WooCommerce > Settings and select the Payments tab.
- Switch the toggle button to enable the plugin on your WordPress site and save changes.
- Click on “Finish setup” button to enter the API keys you copied from your paystack admin dashboard.
Make sure the “Enable Paystack” checkbox is checked. If the “Enable Test Mode” checkbox is enabled, use the test live and secret keys from Paystack to test out the payment before switching to live mode.
If you find any challenge in setting up the plugin, feel free to contact us or call.
The WooCommerce plugin is a powerful tool for businesses looking to optimize their online payment processes. Its user-friendly integration, diverse payment options, and robust features make it an excellent choice for merchants aiming to enhance their e-commerce platforms.